THEM

 

THEM

 A musician friend that invited me over for a jam session.

When I finally got the Internet at the house, I was able to get Amazon Prime, someone had given me a gift card that I hadn't used. 

So about two weeks ago I had been seeing THEM pop up as a free series that I could watch. I had added it to my watch list. I wasn't so sure about it and I have to be in a certain mood to watch certain progams. So before I began watching THEM I decided to watch Tom Clancy's Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan. I have seen many of Michael B. Jordan's performances and I have made interesting observations. I really enjoyed Fruitvale Station. I had reservations about Creed, and Fahrenheit 451, but his performances opposite male actors have a better delivery than those with female actresses. Maybe it's the maturity of the stars he is on screen with such as Chadwick Boseman, Sylvester Stallone or Michael Shannon. He's working his way more into action movies. Without Remorse has moments and if you are a fan of Michael B. Jordan I don't think you will be disappointed.

Now on to THEM. I decided to just watch an episode one night. I wasn't sleepy and there wasn't anything else I needed to do. I had my assumptions, but I wanted to get that idea out of my head and watch it with fresh eyes with no expectations. The opening reminded me of a Tim Burton film, all of the bright colors of the suburb. The series is set in 1950, but the opening song was Patti Labelle's version of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'. So, hearing this I already had a bad feeling about the first episode. I know artist take creative license, but sometimes you have to be careful in doing that. There was a song by Judy Garland that played next, 'Get Happy'. The series was created by Little Marvin. THEM is about a black family that moves into a white neighborhood where they discover they are not wanted and that they will literally have to fight to stay alive. THEM is part social commentary, part supernatural and part suspense and thriller.

I didn't recognize any of the actors in the first episode, but after I made the decision to see what was going to happen I saw a few familiar faces. The names are not well known, but I recognized the faces. Type casting is real for many actors. I noticed that these actors had played characters that were racists or sought revenge on other programs. 

I didn't recall with the first episode of any type of disclaimer about the contact of the episode, but later I began to see that flash on the screen. The "N" word was used once and then started to progress. There is also a character in black face that appears in several episodes.

There are some very intense and cringe worthy moments that show up as the series progresses. As I mentioned at the beginning, I have to be in a certain mood to watch certain things and THEM was no exception. Because of all that is happening in our world now there are many similarities that some people of color may be feeling. There are some people of color that may want to avoid watching the series. When I see things like this I think of people that it may anger and the ideas it could put in the minds of people that are somewhat unstable. As an artist/writer myself I don't want to be one of those people that feels art is to blame. I do worry about that because of some of the things that I write about. The conclusion I have come to is that people already have ideas. Sometimes a film, movie or series can help them lay out the plan. The artist has no way of knowing what the audience will take away from what they see or read. This will be one of those conundrums like what came first...

As an artist there are some great performances in THEM. The experiences are real to some, but this is not a series for everyone.

Use caution if you decide to watch it. The ending series song is Young, Gifted and Black. I don't know if I had ever head this song before, but I have had a title in my head for a poem Black, Gifted and Young for over 10 years. I know I have heard the phrase, I'm just not sure where I heard it that it would stay with me. I keep working on the poem until I get it just right

When it comes to differences we can all see the other as THEM.

Thanks for stopping by and do come back to see how things play out. Keep an open mind.

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Thanks for stopping by; keep and open mind and do stop by again.